Page 31 of Face Off

“What pictures did you draw?” I asked, and she talked while I made each of us a sandwich and heated a can of tomato soup for us to share. She described in great detail her color choices for sleepy beauty and why purple was the best color in the whole world.

I loved her stories. The highlight of my days now was listening to her tell me about her day on our drives home after work and school.

As soon as we finished eating, she was bouncing in her seat, ready to go.

“Look, Mommy! The hands are up!” She held both of her arms up directly over her head.

“Good job. You’re right.”

She cheered and slid off her booster seat and ran toward her shoes waiting by the door. She picked out her outfit this morning, and I didn’t argue with her pink leggings and floral shirt. I might not have ever paired it together, but it looked fine enough that I didn’t step in. It was when she tried to pull on her rain boots that I intervened.

“Honey, you don’t need those today. It’s nice and sunny.”

She turned with her fists at her side. “But I want to wear them.”

I had about two seconds to decide if this was a battle I wanted to win. I didn’t care, so I went to my room to find sandals and quickly grabbed a pair for her to hide in my purse for when, not if, she complained about the cumbersome boots at the park.

“Let’s go!” I called as I walked to the door.

The drive was quick, which was a blessing since Sadie started asking if we were there yet as we turned out of the parking lot of our apartment complex. Usually, it took about twenty minutes to get to downtown in the morning traffic, even in the carpool lane, but the roads were empty today.

“We’re here,” I told her as I parked near the enormous playground with a castle-looking playset.

“Mommy, I can be a princess!” She pointed to the wooden structure.

“That’s so cool.” I hurried to unbuckle her while she danced in her seat. “Ready?”

She held my hand on the path that led up the short slope but took off running when she spotted Milo and Finn.

“Be careful!” I called after her. I stopped, watching as she reached the boys and they ran across a swaying bridge together. Her grin was all I needed to know she was going to be distracted for a while.

“Holly!” Sydney waved to me from under a covered patio area with several of the other women. It looked like they had claimed most of the tables, and there were drinks and snacks set out on the two closest to the playground.

I waved back and headed toward her and nearly tripped when I saw who else was there.

12

Mikey

I swore I wasn’t going to go when Brandon and Olli told me about the team playdate. One, I had no children, so showing up to a park felt a little creepy. Two, team playdate sounded like something I wanted no part of. And three, if kids were involved that meant Holly was likely invited, and if I went, it would ruin my perfect seven-day streak of avoiding her.

It wasn’t like I didn’t want to ever see or talk to her again. I knew that wasn’t a possibility, given our jobs, but I was set on delaying our next run-in for as long as I could. I was taking Lance’s advice and really thinking things over. I couldn’t deny my attraction to Holly, but that wasn’t enough of a reason to do anything about it.

If a beautiful woman was all I wanted, then all I had to do was show up to a club or bar any night of the week. That wasn’t arrogance, it was experience. I had to decide if I wanted more, but there were too many other factors to consider.

When it came down to it, this wasn’t the time to make any decisions. Life was up in the air right now, and it wasn’t fair to myself or anyone else to involve them in my drama.

But that all was forgotten when I saw Holly approaching. She was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen her, and I loved it. I had a feeling this was the real Holly, and she was more stunning than ever. I almost regretted my decision to stay away.

That was a lie.

It sucked.

Every day this week sucked because I knew where she was, just a few floors away, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to keep a distance. She wasn't someone I could take out once to get out of my system and move on. The guys would kill me, then the Pride would bring me back to life only to kill me themselves.

So she was the forbidden fruit. Something to be admired, desired even, but never touched.

“Heads up!”